This was originally posted on April 10, 2019 “The master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house.” Audre Lorde Question: What tools do we have that are powerful enough to dismantle the Master’s house? Answer: Storytelling. Storytelling does not belong… Read More ›
Patriarchy
From the Archives: “The Importance of Religion for Ecofeminism,” by Ivy Helman.
Author’s note: Originally published on January 8, 2017, this post still speaks to me 6 years-to-the-day later. Now, when I teach ecofeminism, I dedicate a week to religion as we cannot deny the way in which Western patriarchy and religion… Read More ›
The People Who Have Always Had Questions by Liz Cooledge Jenkins
A few weeks back, author and historian Jemar Tisby tweeted that an acquaintance of his “described their general experience with white evangelicals as ‘people who don’t have any questions.’ I immediately knew what they meant.” The tweet gained some traction,… Read More ›
The Fall of Patriarchy: I Got Scammed by Caryn MacGrandle
I am a few months out of my second marriage. There will be no third. I know my task right now is to become self-sufficient. Thanks to my second husband, I have valuable Project Management skills. He set up an S-Corporation when he… Read More ›
Moses and the Rambo Problem by Janet Maika’i Rudolph
Moses is an interesting character is in the pantheon of religious leaders. He is such a major personage, considered the founder of Judaism and yet there are no extra-biblical accounts of his life and his deeds. He only exists in… Read More ›
From the Archives: I Believe Anita! by Marie Cartier
This was originally posted on April 7, 2014 During the past week I attended a Los Angeles premiere of a new documentary Anita: Speaking Truth to Power (Dir: Freida Lee Mock USA, 2013). The screening was sold out and I… Read More ›
Inspired by Carol P. Christ: Patriarchy Rules the Supreme Court by Janet Maika’i Rudolph
Along with the words of Justices Sotomayer, Breyer and Kagan. The Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe was expected, but there was nothing that could prepare me (nor likely anyone else) for the devastation of the actual decision. My gut is… Read More ›
A Poem for Our Abortion Rights by Marie Cartier
Fecundity: the ability to produce an abundance of new growth, but also the ability to produce new ideas And now in the hour of our discontent, we are asked to worry about fecundity. I suppose we can call it that—have… Read More ›
From the Archives: The Story of Juneteenth by Kelly Brown Douglas
This was originally posted June 18, 2013 Tomorrow is a special day for me. It is Juneteenth. On June 19, 1865, news finally reached Galveston, Texas that slavery had been abolished. This was of course two and a half years… Read More ›
Carol P. Christ’s Legacy: Is This How Patriarchy Began?
This was originally post on June 19, 2017 In my widely read blog and academic essay offering a new definition of patriarchy, I argued that patriarchy is a system of male dominance that arose at the intersection of the control… Read More ›
On the Good and the Bad of Behar by Ivy Helman
The Torah portion for May 21, 2022 is Behar (Leviticus 25:1 – 26:2). In it, the Israelites receive instructions for sh’mita and yovel – two types of sabbatical years. These years attempt to set up right relations between the community,… Read More ›
Patriarchy and the Supreme Court by Janet Maika’i Rudolph
I am pissed! I wrote this blogpost the day after Beltane when the leaked draft of the Supreme Court majority opinion regarding Roe v. Wade was leaked to the public. I was up anyway feeling the effects of PTSD. Lessons… Read More ›
Carol P. Christ’s Legacy: THE LABRYS: A RIVER OF BIRDS IN MIGRATION
Moderator’s Note: Carol Christ died from cancer in July, 2021. Her work continues through her non-profit foundation, the Ariadne Institute for the Study of Myth and Ritual and the Goddess Pilgrimage to Crete. This blog was originally posted July 29, 2013. You can its original… Read More ›
Tzav: Holiness, the Situation in Ukraine, and Eating Animals by Ivy Helman
The parshah for this upcoming Shabbat is Tzav (Leviticus 6:1-8:36). It details the investiture of Aaron and his sons into the priesthood and lays out the basics of various offerings (mostly, although not exclusively, animal sacrifices) and the rules regarding… Read More ›
The Patriarchy of Ki Tisa and a Call to Reimagine Divinity by Ivy Helman.
This week’s Torah portion is Ki Tisa, Exodus 30:11-34:35. Its events revolve around the theme of creation, destruction, and recreation. From a feminist perspective, it is quite clear that this cyclical process is a result of a patriarchal understanding of… Read More ›
Father Root by Sara Wright
My habit has been to hide once I know he’s around, to deny his presence, the fright that springs from every cell, my body on scream. I harm myself forcing me to do his will – ‘Keep going’ I screech… Read More ›
Why It Matters That Simone Biles Won Times Athlete of the Year Award by Janet Maika’i Rudolph
I remember my first feeling’s of disappointment when Simone Biles pulled out of so many events at the 2021 Olympics. But then I quickly realized that here I was falling for the patriarchal lines that are so much a part… Read More ›
Of an Anniversary, a Methodology and the Parshah Yitro by Ivy Helman.
This month’s blog post marks my 10-year anniversary writing for feminismandreligion.com (FAR) and my 122nd post. I would just like to take a moment to acknowledge this milestone and thank the community for both its dialogue with me and support… Read More ›
Transitions by Esther Nelson
It’s been a rough couple of years. Even though thousands of miles distanced us from the first-discovered Covid-19 outbreak (late 2019) in China, the virus soon traveled the world, doing what viruses do best—infect us, spread, morph, and then infect… Read More ›
From the Archives: Gods of War by Barbara Ardinger
Moderator’s note: This marvelous FAR site has been running for 10 years and has had more than 3,500 posts in that time. There are so many treasures that have been posted in this decade that they tend to get lost… Read More ›
Last Tuesday Night by Marcia Mount Shoop
It’s been just over a week. Last Tuesday night to be exact. That’s the night the four of us huddled around our beloved companion of sixteen and a half years and said goodbye. Buck became a part of our family… Read More ›
Professors, Sex, and the Academy by Esther Nelson
Amia Srinivasan (b. 1984) is a professor of philosophy at the University of Oxford. Her recently released book, THE RIGHT TO SEX: FEMINISM IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY, is a series of essays, drawing on earlier feminist tradition, dealing with topics… Read More ›
Women’s Bodies and Texas
I have been so angry about the Texas law that functionally bans abortion, I have not even been able to find the words to write about it. But alas . . . being angry without taking action is too often… Read More ›
Ha’azinu and Models of the Divine by Ivy Helman.
This week’s Torah parshah, as you can tell from the title, is Ha’azinu, or Deuteronomy 32:1-52. This is Moses’ final speech to the Israelites before he ascends Mount Nebo to die. It is traditionally associated with Yom Kippur and read… Read More ›
Patriarchy – For Love of Predators by Sara Wright
I live just down the road from one of our many lakes and ponds here in western Maine. Almost every morning I hear the haunting call of the loons as they fly over the house. Although I cherish the symphony… Read More ›
On Devarim: From a Feminist Perspective Problematic, but not Irredeemable by Ivy Helman
This week’s Torah portion is Devarim (Deuteronomy 1:1-3:22). In it, the Isrealites are preparing to enter the Promised Land, as the last of the sinful generation have died. Most of the parshah consists of Moses recalling the divinely sanctioned wars… Read More ›
¡La Vida es la Lucha! – Women in the Colombian Protests by Laura Montoya
*Trigger Warning – Reference and description of distressing violence against women at the hands of police* Alison Melendez was 17 when she was sexually abused last week by a group of Colombian policemen. She was captured for allegedly being part… Read More ›
Feminist Parenting About Sexuality Part 2 – pornography by Trelawney Grenfell-Muir
As I said in Part 1 – this topic will be difficult to discuss. As I said, I promise I AM NOT SAYING ALL MEN ARE BAD. Please re-read Part 1 if this post causes you to feel defensive or… Read More ›
Bamidbar: Our Role in the In-Dwelling by Ivy Helman.
This week’s Torah portion is Bamidbar (Numbers 1:1-4:20). Mostly, it concerns itself with: a census; the organization of the Isrealites in camp as well as while traveling; who is responsible for which parts of the Tabernacle; and the redemption of… Read More ›
Crow and the Pornographic Gaze by Sara Wright
Once she believed that it was her fault they came on to her, that she owed them something… They owned her? Secretly the girl was pleased because any kind of attention was better than none, or being so “different” –… Read More ›
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